Belgium has pledged to partner with the East African Community (EAC) in developing a vibrant infrastructure that would connect the entire Great Lakes Region.

The pledge was made during a meeting the Belgium Ambassador to Tanzania Paul Jansen had recently with the EAC Secretary General Ambassador Juma Mwapachu at the EAC Secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania.

The talks primarily centered on regional infrastructure and the ongoing negotiations of the EAC-European Commission Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

"Ambassador Paul Jansen said that Belgium was looking at how effectively it could contribute to the improvement of roads, rails and operations of ports that connect the original EAC partner states with the new entrants; Rwanda and Burundi; and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” read a communication from the EAC Secretariat, a copy of which The New Times obtained.

On his part, Mwapachu said that regional integration and development is hinged on reliable, effective and efficient infrastructure noting that the EAC region faces a great challenge regarding its current state of infrastructure deficit.

He underscored the need to satisfy the demand for energy, railways, roads, inland waterways and airlines services; communications networks; as well as easier border crossing and administrative procedures.

The EAC chief highlighted the need for a strong interface between national and regional plans in the overall regional integration process, saying: "In most cases there are disconnects between national and regional projects and programmes being implemented in all sectors of the integration process.”

On the EAC- EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Mwapachu informed the Belgian envoy that the negotiations were on course and were mainly underpinned by two principles; market access and development.

Both officials noted that EAC had already finalised the negotiation on market access and the EAC was sending a high level delegation consisting of experts from the partner states and the secretariat to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat to study how it (CARICOM) handled market access and development issues with the European Union.

Jansen’s visit comes at a time when infrastructure development poses one of the greatest challenges to the region, since a large part of the infrastructure of the EAC Partner States is in a poor state and needs urgent development.

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